This invention relates to an apparatus for spreading and feeding laundry flat work pieces before feeding them to subsequent processing equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,227 assigned to the present assignee discloses a spreader feeder apparatus for spreading laundry flatwork pieces before feeding them to subsequent processing equipment. Separate pairs of flatwork clamps are normally located respectively at the left end, middle and right end of the apparatus. The left end and right end clamps are movable straight across the entry side of the apparatus to the middle before being spread apart. The paired clamps operate to spread their respective flatwork pieces in the order in which their respective start switches are operated manually. Interference among the paired clamps or between clamps of each pair is prevented. No intermediate flatwork transfer operation is required between the insertion of a flatwork piece into a pair of clamps and the spreading of that flatwork piece.